AR-10s for sale at the Belle-Clair Fairgrounds & Expo Center Gun Show, after the state of Illinois passed its "assault weapons" ban into law, in Belleville, Illinois, U.S., January 14, 2023.
The state's high court in a 4-3 vote rejected arguments by a group of plaintiffs led by a Republican state Representative Dan Caulkins, that the ban violated the Illinois Constitution by not applying the law equally to all citizens.
The plaintiffs also argued the law violated the right to keep and bear arms under the U.S. Constitution's Second Amendment.
That Second Amendment argument is central to separate ongoing federal lawsuits also challenging Illinois' law.
Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston; Editing by Jonathan Oatis and Alexia GaramfalviOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
Persons:
Kate Munsch, Dan Caulkins, Democratic Illinois Governor J.B, Pritzker, Elizabeth Rochford, Rochford, Lisa Holder White, David Overstreet, Mary Kay O’Brien, Nate Raymond, Jonathan Oatis, Alexia Garamfalvi
Organizations:
Belle, Clair Fairgrounds, REUTERS, Democratic, Republican, Democratic Illinois Governor, Protect, AK, U.S, Supreme, Thomson
Locations:
Illinois, Belleville , Illinois, U.S, Highland Park, Protect Illinois, New York, Boston